The Current State of Mexican Democracy

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According to Stoner and McFaul when the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) was defeated and voted out of office in 2000 this turnout allowed for a completion of a successful transition to democracy in Mexico (264). Although a transition did occur and Mexico does have solid democratic foundations, bewildering corruption, poor rule of law, and narco related violence have halted Mexican democratic consolidation.

The current state of Mexican democracy is seemingly difficult to analyze because Mexico is still a relatively new democracy. The Mexican government has come a long way and still has a lot to work on order to improve its democracy. The Mexican government has been successful at upholding substantive and procedural methods of government yet it has been failing in participation and responsiveness. The current government allows elections and reforms to be implemented when civil society has called for them, but civil society, although becoming more active,has not been able to keep the privileged elite political class accountable (Nytimes 1). The electoral reform laws that took place in 1994-1996 allowed for better transparency and fairness while voting (Stoner and Mcfaul 263). These laws as well as the devaluation of the peso had voters turn against the PRI which inevitably let voters to form a new party (Stoner and Mcfaul 262). The success of a new party in 2000 allowed for a democratic transition but the inertia has been lost and democratic consolidation isn’t possible unless certain problems are addressed.

The PRI party that had run Mexico for 71 years by using an unfair system of corruption was defeated, but the remnants they left behind are creating more challenges for democratic consolidation. In 2000, af...

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...e to be brought under control and civil society were to be more engaged in establishing a rule of law, democratic consolidation could take effect in Mexican governance in the long term.

Works Cited

Emmerich, Gustavo E. "The State of Democracy in Mexico." Idea.int. Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2014.

Gonzalez, Francisco. Countries at the Crossroads. Freedom House, 2013. Web. 10 Jan. 2014.

"Mexico Drug War Deaths over Five Years Now Total 47,515." BBC News. BBC, 01 Dec. 2012. Web. 9 Jan. 2014.

"Mexican Democracy’s Lost Years." New York Times, 23 June 2012. Web. 9 Jan. 2014.

O'Neill, Shannon K. "Mexico: Development and Democracy at a Crossroads." A Markets and Democracy Brief. Council on Foreign Relations, Feb. 2011. Web. 9 Jan. 2014.

"Mexico." Countries at the Crossroads. Freedom House, n.d. Web. 9 Jan. 2014.

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